Resonance: Highland

You may recall the post I wrote for the Isle of Skye theme from Quest 64, a game which manages to occupy a special place in my heart despite all its many flaws, probably thanks to a combination of nostalgia and the many, many hours I spent playing the game because I had little else to play back then. But, what I think really helped to give me warm feelings for a game I’m not even particularly fond of were two songs that really, well, resonated with me. It’s time for the second of those songs and my favorite of the two, Highland.

Highland plays in Brannoch, the final town in the game. Brannoch was always a depressing place, I thought, with the night sky and the kingdom’s war-hungry king, not to mention the fact that this place is set within a wasteland the player only reaches after a long and trying trek through the Boil Hole. The setting does a fine job of giving this place an ominous feel, while its theme plays an integral part in setting the mood and letting you know as soon as you escape from the horrors of the Boil Hole that you’ve nearly reached the end of the game, and things are only getting to get worse. (It might be interesting to note that this is also the location of some of the only plot in the game. At least, I think this game had a plot.)

It’s possible I’m a bit biased towards this song because it’s my favorite of the game, but I really think it captures the feel of Brannoch perfectly and was really one of the only times in the game that I felt that my so-called quest was actually important. While it’s quite possible you’d need to play the game to really know what I mean, the song is below, for your listening enjoyment.

Video from Youtube User: GensaiK

And as with the Isle of Skye, the orchestrated version:

Video from Youtube User: AGenuineExperiment

What do you think about this song? How does it make you feel, whether or not you’ve played the game?

The Duck Who Somewhat Forgives This Game For All the Questing it Put Me Through, Mainly For This Song